How to Tell Doctrinal Development From Cultural Corruption, by Larry Chapp

There is much talk these days about the concept of the “development of doctrine” in the Church. The topic is a complex one and its various nuances cannot be adequately dealt with in a short essay. Nevertheless, it is also the case, given the importance of doctrinal truth in the life of the Church, that it should be possible for an average Catholic to make some sense of it without the necessity of having advanced theological training.

Along these lines, there is a certain level of common sense that should prevail in the Church’s doctrinal catechesis such that the plain meanings of words must not become so laden with endless theological qualifications that they cease to express the basic truths of the faith with clarity. Such obfuscations have the net effect of turning a doctrine into something deeply confusing and obscure and, in so doing, nullify the original plain-sense meaning that the doctrine was meant to convey in the first place. ….

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